The Modern, Postmodern University, part 2

See last week's post for part 1 of this series.

"Postmodernism" (PM) took American universities by storm in the 1980s and 90s. When I arrived at Macalester College (St. Paul, MN) as the InterVarsity campus staff in 1992, PM hit me full in the face.

Gone were objective truth, autonomous reason, caucasian triumph.

Present were subjective truths, politicized reason, and cultural diversity.

Last week I mentioned how it has taken evangelicals 20 years to come to grips with this sea change. We're finally getting it.

Alas, think again.

The most prevalent type of undergrad student (by far) I encounter in my many travels is not the truly PM person, but this:

Student profile #3: PM veneer, modern underneath.

Yeah, it's complicated. By bathing in the direct PM sunlight their entire formative years, students absorb much from their environment.

But it's only skin deep, a suntan. When you get past the outer layer, they seem to bear a striking resemblance to moderns of the past. They want rational answers to their questions.

Careful, though. Don't assume you can skip past that tawny exterior. Failure to account for it will crash the conversation.

Student profile #4: Modern exterior, PM underneath.

Rare, but it's out there. This student appears at first to engage in rational discussion of a reality to which we both subscribe. But soon, squishy PM stuff derails the conversation into troubled waters -- or quicksand; pick your image.

Next week: We'll begin connecting the gospel message with the four profiles.

Note that definitions of PM and Modernism vary. My use of "Modernism" is rather generic and is probably more in line with the word "Enlightenment." Wikipedia has some nice articles on Postmodernism and the Enlightenment. In old fashion hard copy, I'd suggest Stan Grenz's A Primer on Postmodernism.

The Modern, Postmodern University, part 1

I travel a lot. Over 25 college campuses, the past few months.

People ask me what I'm learning about students.

This:

Student profile #1: Postmodern all the way through. 

You may be surprised to know that in the so-called "postmodern" university the truly postmodern student is fairly rare. That is, the student who thinks there is no overarching truth at all, but only competing stories and "versions" of reality, is a famous but ultimately phantom figure.

Though scarce in number, postmoderns have become the target profile to whom we evangelicals have finally adjusted our ministry sites, now twenty years after their first explosive appearance.

Student profile #2: Modern all the way through. 

This student never really went away, but was considered passe for a decade or more as campus and pop culture embraced personal--that is, non-institutional--spirituality.

But such ungrounded spirituality was bound to falter after a season.

Believe me when I tell you the young modernist has stormed back into prominence. Following "new" atheists such as Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens, he's a hard-headed, common sense pragmatist. 

And like his mentors just mentioned, he can be aggressive and derisive. Unfortunately, he seems quite able to bait Christians into following suit.

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Next week I'll cover two more student profiles, including the one I encounter most (by far).

Later, I'll outline a strategy for reaching all four profiles.

In the Slot

I stood in front of a bunch of college students the other night in Duluth and told them to stay in the church and work for reform.

See, when you're young and a little cynical, the temptation to ditch the church and just do the Jesus thing by yourself is pretty strong.

But consider: An ancient church father named Cyprian famously declared that there is no salvation outside the church.

Maybe Cyprian was a little extreme, but in my view he leans in the proper direction. After all:

The church is God's only plan for saving the world.

The option of skipping church and just growing in Christ on our own isn't really open to us, biblically speaking.

Here's something that could make church participation more appealing to those on the sidelines:

Find your slot.

By "slot" I mean finding what you love doing and are really good at; then -- get in there and dig.

My slot(s) at Grace Church Roseville:

• Tunes: Once or twice/month I make the big commitment (about seven hours' worth) to play in the worship band. FYI: At 53 I am still a young rocker!

• Sermon prep: My buddy Jim and I serve as Pastor Jason's advisors for sermon prep. As a trio we study the passages together and determine preaching themes. We have awesome discussions.

• Service assessments: My given assignment is to "write up" the Sunday service from beginning to end -- every minute, every inch. Then I email the assessment to the pastoral team. I am supportive, constructive in my comments. 

Those jobs play into my strengths, passions and sense of team.

Are you doing what you love at your church? Doing what you're good at? Serving the body of Christ?

Tell us your story.

In and Out

Consider the following pattern:

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• Teenager: heavily involved in church youth group. On fire for Jesus!
  
  
• College age and early 20s person: drops out of church, grows cynical, apathetic.

• Late 20s: He/she realizes need for grounding, brings new spouse and toddler to church twice/month.

• Age 30: A dramatic fork in the road distinguishes in-group from out-group:
• The outs remain on the fringe of the church. They take what they can but give little. Nominalism sets in.
• The ins find warm fellowship, dive into the deep end, make a commitment to a local body of believers.

• 30s and 40s: The ins commit huge time to church work and wonder at those who opt out.

• 40s and 50s: The ins start to fade once again, feel burned out.

• 50s and 60s: The former ins sit on the sidelines, feel they've done their share, go to the cabin a lot, switch to being outs.

• 70s and beyond: The outs upgrade to more regular church attendance in order to encourage grandkids, but have little personal investment.

Of course, many Christians defy the above pattern and are faithful to the church their whole lives. This I applaud.

But for the fickle masses, church seems to be just this: optional. I suppose we can blame it on individualism, self-determination, maybe just laziness.

But we cannot blame it on the Bible.

We're told in Ephesians 5 and other places that the church is the bride of Christ.

That means we Christians are married, spiritually speaking.

What does that mean for the outs?